Thursday, April 13, 2017

Pre- K thru 3rd grade FSA students had a wonderful trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens last week! Students were given an educational tour of the rain forest and desert exhibits where they able to learn about all kinds of unique plants and animals.

This was especially exciting for 2nd grade as they were able to connect classroom learning of a frog's life cycle to that of the Poison Dart Frogs' in the exhibit. They also observed up close how plants adapt and defend themselves in different environments. Lunch was enjoyed in beautiful Piedmont Park as we were fortunate and missed the rain showers. Students' afternoons ended strolling through the colorful tulips and checking out the new children's exhibit in the gardens!

Third-grade students engaged in a simulated market during Market Day. This STEAM-based project incorporated what students had learned in Social Studies about free market economics, as well as math and art skills. Students were given the task of choosing a product or service to sell, determining how much supply to create based on predicted demand, styling an advertisement to attract a target audience, and researching how to run a real business. This project was a tremendous success as students experienced real-world applications!

Not only did the third graders get to buy and sell from each other, but drew in crowds of parents, teachers, and even our middle and high school students! With an increase in demand, many students sold out of their one-of-a-kind products! Students sold everything from massages, to advice, sweet treats, slime, photo frames, and sports memorabilia. According to Rylar C., "Placement is everything when it comes to how much money you will get!" Thank you to all our teachers, staff, students, and parents for their participation and support!

Members of Fulton Science Academy's Middle School Model UN team headed to the Big Apple this week to participate in a huge national competition. Bringing together hundreds of students from around the world, Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation and/or academic competition in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations.

The trip came on the heels of many months of preparation for our students. We are so happy that they had a chance to participate in this experience and are very impressed by their efforts!

On March 18, two members of the FSA High School History Academic Team traveled to Newnan High School to compete in the 2017 Georgia State Championship History Bee and Bowl. Qualifying tests for the US Geography Olympiad and the US History Bowl were given at this event as well.

FSA team members, Sanjeev U. and Chloe R. participated. Sanjeev placed 2nd by taking the US Geography Olympiad Qualifying Test and is qualified to participate at nationals. Chloe took the US history qualifying test and her score qualifies her for competing in that event at nationals. As a team, they finished 3rd in the Junior Varsity Division of the History Bowl. This qualifies them to participate in the National History Bowl in Washington, D.C., April 21-23.

Congratulations to these hard-working, dedicated history students. As you will see below, lots of preparation and fast fingers can often mean the difference in results. Our new History Academic Team formed in January and students are already very competitive in the state level competition. They and other team mates will now be preparing for the national competition, so be sure and wish them good luck.

Congratulations to FSA eighth grader, Arul S., who had an amazing day today at the State Science Fair. Arul won both a Second Honors Category Award, as well as a special award, the 2nd Place Merial Biotechnology Award, for his project that addressed the impact of Gaba Enriched Food on Autism Spectrum Disorders. To achieve such an honor among so many compelling projects speaks volumes about Arul's very strong work ethic...we are so honored to have this incredible student as an FSA Mustang. Congratulations, Arul!

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Congratulations to members of FSA's Destination Imagination Team. This year, we are delighted to report that three teams have advanced to globals at the University of Tennessee in May! Way to go, kids!

1st place in the Service Learning Challenge Middle School Level

Isra, Tanmaya, & Sanika (not pictured)

1st place in the Fine Arts challenge High School Level

Amisha, Katarina & Zeynep

1st place in the Improv Challenge High School Level

Chloe & FSA Alum, Joe

Rising Stars teams (K-2nd):

This is a non-competitive level, but all teams really earned their participation medals! This is the first time that FSA has had teams participate at the Rising Stars Level, and we had four!

Students did an absolutely fantastic job developing very creative presentations using simple and complex machines to help 'Save the Day!'

TEAM LIGHTNING LADIES won the Renaissance Award (one of just 3 special awards given out)"On our journey we sometimes encounter exceptional travelers who entertain and enlighten us along the way. The Renaissance Award recognizes those among us who demonstrate extraordinary amounts of effort and preparation in their solutions or outstanding skill in engineering, design or performance. While the destination is creativity, these fellow travelers make the journey itself memorable."

FSA's K-1 Chess Team won FIRST PLACE during the state chess tournament yesterday! Additionally, the K-3 chess team was a co-champion for first place with three other teams and finished in third place using a tie breaker! K-5 also won third place. Wow!

K-1 Team - clear first winning all their matches. State Champions!

Vehbi C., Christopher G., Aaron L., Omer O., Kovid P.

K-3 Team - tied for first place with 3 more teams, all the teams are Co- Champions

The school's chess program, led by International Chess Master, Carlos Perdomo, supports a love of chess for children beginning as early as Kindergarten. In addition to coaching FSA students, Coach Carlos founded Chess Atlanta and has led University teams to great victories, including Emory's prior triumphs over Stanford, Duke, and Yale.

Fulton Science Academy competed in its first Division C State Science Olympiad Tournament and it was a great experience!

Fulton Science Academy students competed in the Division C Science Olympiad State Tournament hosted by Emory University last Saturday. Twenty-four of the state’s top teams qualified for the tournament based on the results of eight Regional Tournaments.

“Since this is the first year we have had a high school, this was the first year we’ve competed in Division C,” explained head coach Pam Walsh. “Science Olympiad rules allow Division C teams to have 15 members, seven of whom can be twelfth graders. Because our school is so small, we requested special permission from the State Director to include a couple of eighth graders on our team.”

With both Destination Imagination and the Math Team competing this weekend, even with two eighth-graders, FSA managed to put together a team of eleven students. Chloe R. spent the morning competing in Science Olympiad and after two events left to compete in Destination Imagination. Nevertheless, with some students competing by themselves (most events allow a team of two students) the team managed to participate in all twenty-three events. What incredible perseverance our students demonstrated!

“We had two goals for this first year,” explained head Coach Gloria Stathos. “First, we wanted to compete in all twenty-three events and second, we wanted to qualify for the state tournament. Qualifying was no easy task as there were 143 teams in the state. To place 18th in the state at this tournament was quite an accomplishment for our first year.”

“We are very proud of our students,” said Building Events coach Yasin Parlak. “We had a number of events in which we finished in the top ten. Next year we will have a more experienced team and our placement should improve. ”

The following students finished in the top ten in their events:

3rd Place Hovercraft – Vishal and Tushar (pictured)

6th Place Microbe Mission – Ethan and Sanjeev

7th Place Anatomy and Physiology – Ethan and Sanjeev

8th Place Rocks and Minerals – Nicholas and Sanjeev

9th Place Towers – Maahi and Bahriye

9th Place Ecology – Nicholas and Chaitanya

Thank you to all of our students, parents, and coaches for all of your efforts, not only this weekend but every weekend!

Congratulations to FSA's Mathletes who today clinched FIRST place in the Varsity Math Competition hosted by Westlake High School. Under the tutelage of Coach Sema Duzyol, team members continue to deliver impressive results throughout the region. Their smiles say it all; hard work really does pay off in the long game!

Congratulations for placing in the Top 10 individually

2nd Place- Vishaal R

4th Place- Charlie F

Other team members include Peyton L and Tyler H.

"Our team was comprised of one 9th grader and three 8th graders, so the results are particularly impressive for a varsity level competition that is typically made up of 11th and 12th graders," said coach Duzyol.

On Thursday, March 23, Fulton Science Academy proudly hosted Ms. Ayana Gabriel, Program Officer from the Arthur Blank Family Foundation in charge of the foundation's portfolio of STEAM funding. The purpose of Ms. Gabriel's visit was to tour the school, learn more about our short and long term vision, and discuss possible collaborative projects between the two organizations.

Formed in 1995, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation promotes innovative solutions to transform the lives of youth and their families, seeking results that move communities beyond what seems possible today. One strategic funding initiative is their emphasis on the expansion of STEAM education in the greater Atlanta area, including the Pipeline Project.

Over the past decade, the Foundation has invested nearly $10 million into efforts to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods on the west side of Atlanta. To further its work in additional areas of need, the Foundation has created the Westside Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, a $15 million long-term commitment to invest in catalytic projects that will ignite positive change and transform both people and place in Atlanta’s Westside communities.

Mr. Blank, chairman of the Foundation, co-founded The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, in 1978 and retired from the company as co-chairman in 2001. Through the Foundation and his family’s personal giving, Mr. Blank has granted more than $300 million to various charitable organizations.

St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Our student council members did a great job motivating their peers to raise money for such an important cause. The student council members shared information with their homerooms and encouraged everyone to purchase St. Baldrick’s shirts and to donate money to the cause, which aims to eradicate childhood cancer.

As promised, if the school raised $1,500 or more, Mr. Parlak agreed to shave his head. Please stay tuned for more details on this event!

You can learn more about this organization as well as continue to donate online. https://www.stbaldricks.org/ Thank you to everyone who made this event such a success!

Congratulations to Dr. Eric Hawk, FSA Music Teacher, and Conductor of the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra, on a very successful inaugural concert at Alpharetta First United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 18. Several orchestra students attended the event, assisting as ushers. It was a lovely evening!

Thank you to our wonderful Mustang Support Agency (MSO) parents for organizing the biggest pi day pie ever! What we think may be the world's largest pizza, brought in from "Pie in the Sky Pizzaria" in Roswell, created so many smiles during lunchtime on 3/14/17. We love seeing the joyful smiles of our students and can't thank our dedicated MSO parents enough for keeping FSA a fun learning environment for our students through very special days such as Pi Day.

Members of FLL Robotics Team #7298 (Control + Alt + Delete) continue their preparations to head overseas this June as the first team ever chosen by the state of Georgia to compete in the International FLL Open Championship at University of Bath, Bath, UK, June 21-25, 2017. The girls have received numerous prestigious FLL robotics awards during the 2016-2017 school year, including the Grand Champion's Award, the Best Robot Design, and Best Robot Performance trophies.

In addition to the creation of a robot and overseeing its performance in FLL assigned missions, the girls have been tasked with solving an issue involving "Animal Allies." Recognizing the harmful side effects of pesticides that are used to treat mosquito outbreaks, including the ZIKA virus, the team invented two different bat houses using a 3D printer to attract and retain bats who are a natural remedy to removing the mosquito population.

The team has secured perfect scores in several of their tournaments. They continue to refine and improve their work as they approach their trip to England, spending five hours together on Saturdays, as well as time after school.

Estimated costs for this trip are $10,000 so team members have created a specific website to explain their journey and collect secure, tax-deductible donations that will help to cover fees.

Sadly, there remains a disproportionate percentage of women who pursue STEM careers. To show your support of FSA's desire to encourage more female students to study STEM, please consider making a gift; www.donate.fultonscienceacademy.org/robotics. Corporate sponsorships are also encouraged and are fully tax deductible. Thank you!

Congratulations to FSA Second Grader, Varun G., who won FIRST PLACE overall out of 93 students on Saturday, March 18th,2017, at the Walton Elementary Math Fest, a math tournament designed for 4th and 5th graders.

Varun is also a nationally recognized chess champion whose smile truly lights up a room. Way to go, buddy!

Congratulations to our incredible FSA Mathletes who placed FIRST last Saturday at the Chamblee Math Tournament! Even better, all four FSA contenders placed in the top ten as well.

What we find most impressive is the incredible diplomacy and professionalism these students show on a weekly basis...towards their teammates and towards other teams. Winning is great, but good sportsmanship is even better!

FSA Team members who participated in this tournament are Richard, Kevin, Arnav, Nick, Tejaz, Nina, Pranav, Shivam, Neel, Akshadha, and Pranavkrishan. These students demonstrate so many valuable character traits under the tutelage of Team Coach and Math Department Chair, Ms. Duzyol.

Way to go Math Mustangs! Great job, team! Your FSA family loves you and we are so proud of you!

The Fulton Science Academy Science Olympiad Team placed second in the GA State Science Olympiad Tournament held at South Cobb High School on March 18. Along with the second place trophy, the team received an invitation to compete in the National Science Olympiad Tournament to be held May 20 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. This is the third consecutive year the team has qualified for Nationals and the seventh time in FSA history!

“We are thrilled to be representing Georgia at the National Tournament,” said Science Olympiad head coach Pam Walsh. “The National Tournament is an amazing event; not only for the intense competition but also for all the geeky-nerdy science activities that go along with it.”

“Qualifying for the tournament gets tougher each year,” explained Head Coach, Gloria Stathos. “This year there were 125 middle school teams in the state. Twenty-nine of these teams advanced to the state tournament, and only the top two teams are invited to Nationals. We medaled in 16 of the 23 events and there were only three events in which we didn’t place in the top ten. Each of the 14 students on our team contributed to our victory by earning at least one medal.”

Walsh continued, "FSA students really performed well. Our students were so professional and well-prepared for this tournament. Science Olympiad prides itself on not being a trivia contest but instead requiring students to show critical thinking and process skills, so there are always unexpected questions and problems, but our students worked through them. We could not be prouder.”

The following students placed among the top 10 in the state for their event:

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Today, Fulton Science Academy's Math Team advanced to Nationals by placing FIRSToverall at the State Mathcounts Competition.

Holden W. placed first individually, with Vishaal R. securing a fifth place finish. FSA had an impressive two students place in top ten and, therefore, qualified to participate in final countdown round.

At the end of the day, Holden placed third in the countdown round, otherwise known as the "tie breaker round."

We are very pleased to announce that the top four students from Georgia (each representing a different school) will advance to the National Mathcounts Competition, May 13-15, in Orlando. Coach Duzyol will continue to support this incredible team of Mathletes, who thrive under her guidance.

What an exciting day with well-deserved results for our students. Great job, Math Mustangs!

Monday, March 20, 2017

FULTON SCIENCE ACADEMY WELCOMES NEW ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM COORDINATOR FOR 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR

Fulton Science Academy is pleased to announce that Mrs. Kandice Ivarie will assume the position of Elementary Curriculum Coordinator and Administrative Team Member, effective August 1, 2017. Ivarie currently serves as Curriculum Support Teacher and Administrative Team Member at Birmingham Falls Elementary School in Milton, GA.

Ivarie will bring more than a decade of education and leadership experience to her role at Fulton Science Academy.

As Elementary Curriculum Coordinator of Fulton Science Academy, Ivarie will assist the general education teachers in translating curriculum into meaningful, educational experiences for students in grades K-5. Additionally, she will work with teachers to maximize efficiency in the organization and implementation of curriculum, serving as a role model, coach, and trainer for best practices. She will also play a vital role in the collaboration of elementary, middle, and high school curriculum coordinators.

Ivarie commented, “Fulton Science Academy Private School has created a rich learning environment where every child’s uniqueness is embraced. Students’ individual strengths are recognized and developed, which is key to building happy, caring, and confident future leaders. When entering the school, you get a clear sense that FSA is very much a family. I look forward to working with this dedicated team in its quest to build a model school. Learning should be fun, engaging, and memorable for children. I am thrilled to be joining a highly respected elementary team who works daily to make these characteristics a reality!”

Currently, Ivarie is in charge of curriculum support at Birmingham Falls ES. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. She obtained her Talented and Gifted Certification in 2008, and holds a variety of training certifications. In her spare time outside of the educational arena, Ivarie enjoys spending time with her family.

Principal Sener commented, "Part of our school’s natural evolution included adding this position, and to have such a well-respected educational leader within the community willing to fill this role is a true gift. Her energy is so positive and her collaboration skills speak for themselves. She will help deliver us one step closer towards our dream of being a model school; one that sets a high standard and demonstrates what is possible in education, not only in the U.S., but abroad as well.”

Welcome to the FSA Family, Mrs. Ivarie! We are so happy to have you as part of our team!

I will keep it short this week as words cannot express the immense pride I feel for FSA as I reflect on yet another outstanding weekend of competitions and achievements.

For the first time in FSAPS history, three academic teams advanced to nationals during just one weekend. WOW!

Our amazing Science Olympiad Team advanced to Nationals this weekend and will now compete in Dayton, Ohio, May 20 – 22, 2017.

Our incredible Math Olympiad Team won First Place in State MathCounts today and will now advance to Nationals in Orlando, May 13 – 15, 2017.

And our wonderful high school students won First Place in State History Bowl (as a team) and advanced to Nationals where they will compete in Washington, DC, on April 21-23, 2017.

Earlier this month, our all-female Robotics Team, "Control + Alt + Delete" advanced to the International FLL Competition in the UK, June 21-25, and our Model United NationsTeam will be competing at the International United Nations Building in New York this May.

So far this year, a total of FIVE teams from our school have advanced to either national or international competitions and will represent the State of Georgia. We anticipate that some of our wonderful Destination Imagination teams also will advance to Global Finals after their competitions this weekend as well.

As you can imagine, this is simply amazing news for a school of our size! We are a small school with SUCH A BIG HEART! The stamina that our students, coaches, and families show on a weekly basis is such an inspiration to all who know them, especially to me. Way to go and good luck at nationals and internationals to all of our teams!

We are also incredibly excited to announce the addition of a brand new CurriculumEducation Coordinator,Kandice Ivarie, for our upcoming 2017-2018 school year. Mrs. Ivarie brings more than a decade of experience to FSAPS and we have no doubt she will help to support our school's long-term goal of being a top STEAM institution, not only in the US, but globally, as well!

We hope you will take time from your busy schedules to please read through our entire newsletter. So much is happening at FSAPS and we don't want you to miss a beat!

In response to your requests, new news is featured at the top, with the recurring news that is still relevant being included in the lower portion of the newsletter.